Page 8 - coc-40thanniversary

Clarita Valley as a viable place to live, work and play was precipitated by several key
developments, chief among them the country’s post-war westward migration and
California’s exploding growth. But the two greatest obstacles to the valley’s growth –
limited access and insufficient water supply – were in the process of being eliminated.
The old Highway 99 was steadily being circumvented by a major north-south freeway,
Interstate 5, that would cut a vital swath through the Santa Clarita Valley on its way to
becoming California’s most important roadway, connecting north with south, border to
border. And, following California voters’ approval seven years earlier to bring state
water south, plans were moving forward for a major new State Water Project reservoir
in Castaic. This project, part of what would become the biggest water-delivery system
in the world, finally ensured a reliable source of water. All of these developments
helped set the stage for the transformation of a dusty domain of cowboys and sod-
busters to a rapidly growing suburbia, one that would need a public institution of high-
er learning. Thus was born the Santa Clarita Community College District and its cam-
pus, College of the Canyons, which would go on to become the fastest-growing com-
munity college in California.
Things moved quickly once voters gave the go-ahead. The Board of Trustees –
President William Bonelli Jr., Vice President Edward Muhl, and members Peter
Huntsinger, Sheila Dyer and Bruce Fortine – began functioning as an official body on
Dec. 5, 1967. They initiated a search for someone who could put the wheels in motion,
eventually deciding upon Santa Barbara City College President Dr. Robert C.
Rockwell. He became the first superintendent of the Santa Clarita Valley Junior
Clockwise from top: The College District, as it was then called, and the first president of its single campus, a col-
first Board of Trustees,
composed of (from left) lege that would later adopt the familiar name College of the Canyons.
Dr. William Bonelli Jr., Other names were considered for this new junior college district. Among them
Edward Muhl, Bruce
Fortine, John Hackney were North Valley, Upper Santa Clarita Valley, Bouquet, Canyon and Vasquez.
and Peter Huntsinger; a Asked why he would even consider leaving such a plush coastal clime for a dusty
view of the land where semi-desert outpost, Rockwell replied: “A college president has very few opportunities
College of the Canyons
would rise; and the col- to create an entirely new college, and I’m still young enough to do it – and I want very
lege’s first superintend- much to do it.” The trustees liked his answer, as well as the fact he’d earlier overseen
ent-president, Dr. Robert
C. Rockwell. the construction of Cerritos Community College. Accompanying Rockwell from Santa
Barbara was his loyal vice president, Gary Mouck, who would stay on at College of
the Canyons long after his mentor retired. “College of the Canyons is what it is today
because Bob Rockwell was the right man at the right place at the right time,” Mouck
said. “There is simply no question about that. He brought invaluable experience and an
innate leadership quality to the project.”

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